How to Use a Bidet

Bidets use a stream of water to wash you after using the restroom. This contrasts to the American method, which is to rub yourself with dry paper. If you sit back and think about it for a moment, you know that water is the superior method of cleaning your body. If you got some mud stuck on your arm – you would go to the sink and wash it off. You wouldn’t just rub it with dry paper. It should be no different when it comes to using the restroom. Makes sense, right?

While Americans have been slow to catch on to the concept of bidets, times are changing. Most of it is due to increased awareness that bidets exist and that, yes – there is an alternative to toilet paper. As bidets gain traction in the U.S., more bidets are getting installed here. That means there are more bidets around for people to try, at your friend's or cousin’s house for example. And once you try it, you realize what you’ve been doing wrong your whole life. You realize that rubbing yourself with dry, abrasive paper makes absolutely no sense.

We’ll show you how to use a bidet in this article. Once you travel outside of North America, this will be useful to know since bidets are commonly found in other parts of the world. Europe is a big market for bidets and you’ve probably seen them in your travels there. They're the separate porcelain bowls you see next to the toilet with a water spigot. Bidets are also popular in the Middle East and South America. And in Asia, you’ve probably seen the modernized version of the bidet – the electronic bidet toilet seat, which attaches to your existing toilet.

Because there are two types of bidets – the “Porcelain-Type Bidets” common in Europe and the “Bidet Toilet Seats” which are common in Asia, we’ll go over both. Here’s how to use a bidet:

Porcelain-Type Bidets – These bidets are separate fixtures which sit right next to the toilet. When you’ve finished your business on the toilet, hop on over to the bidet. Because of where the faucet handles are positioned, you should straddle the bidet facing the wall because it’s easier to access the faucet if the handles are in front of you. You will probably have to remove your pants while doing this, since having pants wrapped around your ankles will prevent you from straddling the bidet comfortably.

Once you’re ready, go ahead and turn the faucet on. This will start a stream of water upwards towards you. Once you feel washed and cleaned, dry yourself using a nearby towel. You’ll typically find a towel hanger next to the bidet just for this purpose. Once dry, you’ll be on your way.

Bidet Toilet Seats – These bidets are more common in Asia and the ones you’ll typically see in the United States. Rather than being a separate fixture, these bidets fit right on top of your existing toilet. You just remove your toilet seat, and attach the bidet seat. Because bathrooms in most Asian and American homes can’t accommodate an additional fixture next to the toilet, these types of bidets are a lot more common.

Since these bidets are already attached to the toilet, you don’t have to move over to another fixture. When ready, simply press the “Wash” button on the bidet’s remote control (which is usually mounted on the wall next to the toilet). A telescoping nozzle will extend beneath you and wash you with water. When done, press the “Stop” button and the nozzle will rinse itself off and retract back into the seat.

Bidet toilet seats also come equipped with a warm air dryer. It’s similar in concept to the hand dryers you see in public restrooms. Just press the “Dry” button and you’ll feel a stream of warm air beneath you. It does take a couple minutes to get completely dry however. If you don’t have the time (or patience) to sit thru the dry cycle, you can use a few squares of toilet paper for drying purposes.

At bidetsPLUS, we specialize in the “bidet toilet seat” version of the bidets above. Bidet toilet seats also have a host of other features, like a heated toilet seat, adjustable water temperature, adjustable water pressure, adjustable spray position, air deodorizer, and slow closing (anti-slam) seat/lid just to name a few. And since they tap into the existing cold water supply located behind your toilet, no additional plumbing is required. Bidet seats do require electricity however, so you will need to plug it into the wall.

We hope you learned how to use a bidet by reading this article. You can also watch the video below to learn more!